The purpose of this blog is to provide families with precise, up-to-date
information on all of America World Adoption’s programs, helpful
resources and adoption stories. We pray that you are encouraged
by seeing God working in families through the Spirit of Adoption.

November 2015

November 30, 2015

Today kicks off America World Adoption’s Holiday Shirt Sale. All t-shirts, tanks tops and ponchos are on sale while supplies last. Order as many shirts as you like for a flat rate of $6.95 shipping per customer!

To purchase items, please email your order to Development@awaa.org. We will follow up with payment details. Payment will be accepted by credit card, cash or check.

HOLIDAY SPECIAL – America World’s 20th Anniversary T-shirt now available for $8 each!

November 26, 2015

Caleb needs a family! He is a 5-1/2 year old boy who is available for adoption. He is a cute little one who was diagnosed with hearing loss and developmental delays. Please join us in praying for him as he waits to be matched with a family who can provide the support & education he will need to communicate and thrive.

Please note that this is a shared referral. For more information on “Caleb” or other waiting children in India, please contact india@awaa.org

November 24, 2015

Please join us in praying for a forever family for 10-year old, Elizabeth. Her file is returning to the CCCWA on December 13th and the orphanage shared that she wants to be adopted and wishes to have parents of her own to feel cared for and loved.

This week we received an updated photo and video of Elizabeth. In the video, she shares that her hobbies include drawing and playing badminton and that she likes English class. In the video, she shows some of her drawings. She is a talented artist!

Her caretakers describe her as extroverted and passionate. They also note that she is very helpful and hardworking. Elizabeth is in grade 5 and her file notes that she does well in school and is liked by teachers and other students. Elizabeth is energetic and likes to play with other children. She enjoys listening to music and watching television and she is fond of animals.

If your family is interested in learning more about Elizabeth, please contact our China team at china@awaa.org or by phone at 800.429.3369 and our team would be happy to share more with your family. A family at any stage of the process is eligible to consider her adoption.

Please help us find Elizabeth’s forever family by sharing this with your network of friends and family.

Today we’d like to share a story with you written by Ashley Gosnell who recently led an America World Storyteller Mission Team to Gansu, China. We are so grateful for Ashley and her team, the amazing work they did while in China and are continuing to do now that they are back in the States. Ashley met a little boy named “Seth” who really captured her heart and her words below will both stir and captivate your heart:

"I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness - secret riches.I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God ofIsrael, the one who calls you by name."Isaiah 45:3

In a crib, in an orphanage, halfway around the world, sits a boy. He's easy to miss, as he sits there quietly with his head bowed. You might even pass him by, unless you took the time to look into his face, pick him up, hold him in your arms. At that moment, he becomes unforgettable.

This is what happened to me on Monday, October 19, 2015. I walked into his room, going from crib to crib to speak to each child, to touch each child, to tell them that I saw them, that they mattered. His was the last crib on the back row. He sat so still, not making a sound. All I could see was the back of his head, as he had it bowed down. I reached out to stoke his head, never dreaming that I was about to lose my heart. When I touched him, he raised his head up, and I saw his face for the first time, a face that radiated with joy and light. I felt the presence of the Lord.

I was the only one on our team in this room. The nannies spoke no English. I spoke no Chinese. There was no way for me to find out anything about him, not even whether he was a boy or a girl. All I knew was that I had never been affected by anyone like I was at that moment by him.

As the week went on, I spent every second I could with him. He could not walk or talk or see, but to be with him was enough. To hear the precious laughter flow from his beautiful lips when I tickled him. To see his pure joy the first time I put his hand to my face, his delicate little fingers gently touching my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my hair, the fuzzy softness of my shirt. It was like I was watching him "see" for the first time. To let him run his hand down the wall as I carried him around the orphanage with me. To experience his wonder as I carried him outside and he felt the crisp air on his cheeks.

These were holy moments.

I was continually crying out to the Lord for this precious baby boy. My heart was torn to shreds, knowing that I would leave in a few short days.

"Lord, who will touch him? Who will hold him?

Who will sing to him and tell him that he is loved?"

"God, You have to give me some hope. Show me, Lord, that You have a plan for him beyond his life in that small, dark crib."

And He did.

Up to this point, I had held little hope that the orphanage would allow him to be registered for adoption, because of his age and special needs. But God had a plan for this precious one long before I arrived. Through a set of circumstances, I discovered, much to my surprise, that he was actually already registered and available for adoption and had been for some time. The orphanage told me that they were going to pull his adoption paperwork because he had been available for so long and no one had chosen him.

The orphanage staff agreed that if I could find him a family, they would reinstate his paperwork. I requested that they allow him to be in the physical therapy program so that he could get stronger in the meantime, and they agreed to this as well.

As I held him on my lap one morning, I prayed that that the Lord would give me an English name for him to use when I shared his story. In that very moment, the Lord whisper, "Seth," but I wasn't sure it was from Him. Not until I looked up the meaning of this name. Seth means "appointed one."

This whole time I had been asking God, "Why him? Why this little boy out of so many beautiful precious children in this place?"

Now I knew. He was the appointed one for me. I was supposed to tell Seth's story.

So, I am telling it.

This video of Seth on one of our last days together is such a treasure for me. Words cannot adequately describe this amazing boy, but this video catches a glimpse of what I experienced with him.

This beautiful six-year-old boy needs a family. This boy who has waited 5 years for someone to choose him needs to be chosen. Seth, so full of life and light, whose laugh lights up the room, is the "treasure hidden in the darkness," and he is waiting to be a son.

1 John 5:14-15 says:

"And this is the confidence we have towards Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him."

Would you join me in crying out for Seth to the Lord, who is the "Father to the fatherless?" To the One who delights to set the lonely into families, that He may place Seth into a family soon?

I believe He will hear and answer.

If your family is interested in learning more about Seth, please contact our China team at china@awaa.org or by phone at 800.429.3369 and our team would be happy to share more with your family. A family at any stage of the process is eligible to consider Seth’s adoption. We can also connect you with the team who met Seth so that you can learn more on their observations during their time at his orphanage.

** Please help us find Seth’s forever family by sharing this with your network of friends and family

Joy is a young girl in our India program whom we’d like you to meet. She is 6 years old, plays games and communicates well with her caretakers. She has a condition that affects her vision and would benefit greatly from the care and support of a family.

Please help us share with others the need for a family for this precious girl as well as many other boys and girls waiting to be matched and adopted by a forever family.

Please note that this is a shared referral. For more information on “Joy” or other waiting children in India, please contact india@awaa.org

If you are planning to adopt, your social worker will ask you about the characteristics of the child you will bring into your family.

Lauren Jiang, LMSW, Manager of Adoption Services at Spence-Chapin Services to Families & Children, will discuss the often difficult and uncomfortable experience of making your “child request.” Using case examples, she will provide guidance on how to decide on the age, racial identity, and medical history of the child you will be best equipped to adopt and parent, while keeping your family’s resources and lifestyle in mind.

November 23, 2015

Congratulations to the 4 America World families who received their Referral Acceptance letters from China today! These children are between the ages of 16 months to 9 years old. Their medical needs include developmental delay, complex disease, limb deformity, and older healthy child.

We’re excited for these families who are one step closer to meeting their child!

Throughout much of the adoption process, a child is unaware of the details going on behind the scenes as a family completes a home study, dossier, immigration approval and other steps in order to bring the child home.

It is always exciting to see a glimpse into the moment when the paperwork is approved and a child learns that they have a mom and dad coming to bring them home soon.

Please join us in celebrating with Elijah today! He recently received a care package where he saw photos of his family for the first time. His parents, David & Megan Rathbone, are currently in the China Waiting Child Program and will bring their son home soon.

We currently have our largest travel group of the year in China and 12 of the 13 families spent this past Friday and Saturday sightseeing in Beijing prior to flying to their children’s provinces to meet them for the first time on Sunday & Monday.

We are excited for all of them as they prepare to meet their children!